David Shrigley's existential-comic sensibility takes form across many
mediums, from photography and sculpture to animation and drawings
Best known for his wry and witty drawings, British artist David Shrigley
has built up an artistic practice that, over the past two decades, has
expanded well beyond drawing to include photography, sculpture, neon
signs, animation, painting, printmaking, publishing and music. Shrigley
finds humor in flat depictions of the inconsequential and the bizarre,
qualities that he heightens through a deliberately limited technique. In
this unusually complete look at the much-loved artist's diverse
approaches, Shrigley is revealed as a master of many media and many
kinds of humor, from the black humor for which he is famed to caricature
and more slapstick situations. With an immediate and accessible appeal
to diverse audiences, Shrigley's work offers an insightful commentary on
the absurdities of human relationships. Published on the occasion of the
artist's first major survey show, at London's Hayward Gallery, this
beautifully produced volume includes a 7" vinyl picture-disc, featuring
an exclusive recording by the artist.
David Shrigley was born in Macclesfield, England, in 1968, and
studied Environmental Art at the Glasgow School of Art from 1988-1991.
As well as authoring numerous books, he directed the video for Blur's
"Good Song" and for Bonnie "Prince" Billy's "Agnes, Queen of Sorrow."
Between 2005 and 2009, he contributed a cartoon for the U.K. Guardian
Weekend magazine every Saturday.
